Customer Reviews

Monster Goose: A Magic Shop Book

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It is always a relief for me to read a childrens book that credits children with the experience and imagination to delight in references to things slimey, disgusting or horror-ful without wanting to get the Bounty and the Raid and make it nice. There are no more eager participants in the imaginative exploration of the gross and horrifying than those of the younger members of our species. Unimpaired by experience, not yet socially sanitized, but trusting the covers of a book, children eagerly go with Sierra to that edge between fantasy and reality for the thrill of the near but safely missed slip into true horrors. So if Barny and Mister Rogers kind of make you want to throw up, get down with the kids like Ms. Sierra does and wollow in the splendidly delightful illustrations of Mr. Davis.

Apparently this is either a love it or hate it book, so add me to the former. As to the scary illustrations, look at the cover. It is very indicative of the style of illustrations inside, so anyone who is suprised that this *monster* book has monsterous illustrations wasn't paying attention to the front. What are they supposed to look like, Care Bears? And as to the dangerous issues of ingesting gasoline and turpintine, I just used it as an educational experience and told my son that since these were made up creatures they could do unreal things, like drink poison, which we as humans could never, ever do because we could die. And, wonder of wonders, he got it. Have a little faith in your kids to separate fantasy from reality - if they can't, you have no business reading them monster books anyway.

This is a very clever, fun book and I wish it had been even longer. We got it first from the library but bought our own copy after the first reading because it is one that we parents don't get bored with reading over and over. The rhymes are great and there is always some new detail to discover in the pictures.

Perfect for Halloween, for any child (or adult!) who enjoys a clever turn of phrase and monster rhymes, this hilarious poetry collection take off on classic Mother goose is a riot from start to finish. Touted as a picture book for ages 5 to 8, this 45 year old laughed out loud at nearly every page. Whether your funny bone is tickled by "Jill and Jacques, who went to the Loch" and their meeting with the infamous Loch Ness inhabitant, or Mary who took her bat to school and had a much better adventure than Mary with her lamb, or Cannibal Horner and his people pot pie, there are plent of laughs just waiting to be had. The illustrations are a perfect complement to the ghoulish subject matter. Don't wait for Hallowen to buy this one!

Mother Goose may never be the same...Sierra's Monster Goose looks like the traditional frumpy goose, but look more closely...yes, there it is. Monster Goose has that evil gleam in her eye, not to mention a discreet pair fangs...not only does she look more sinister than Mother Goose, her tales are decidedly creepier and CHOCK full of monsters, snakes, bats, slugs, and creepy crawlies of all kinds! What we get in Monster Goose is a creepy parody of our most favored nursery rhymes! Sierra covers Hickory Dickory Dock (Slithery Dithery Dock), Mary Had a Little Lamb (Mary Had a Vampire Bat), Jack and Jill (Jill and Jaques), Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Twinkle Twinkle Little Slug), and many more!! Some are cute, clever, witty, and just the right amount of creepy...while others not so much, thankfully where that happens, Davis' illustrations make up for it! The illustrations here are simply delightful...Mary with her vampire bat is a green, Goth chick (too funny); little Jack Horner is a green cannibal, complete with nose ring; Bo Peep has vampire sheep peeking around a tree at the unsuspecting werewolf; the zaniness is just perfect for this horrible nursery rhymes!

Overall, I give it four stars, the text and illustrations are fun, creepy and a perfect match for one another...it only gets four stars because not all of the rhymes work (some are strained and aren't all that funny or cute). Obviously you'd be doing yourself a favor to add this to your reading repertoire around Halloween, but there's simply NO reason not to add a little Monster Goose to your reading list at any time of the year! I'll be buying a copy of this for my permanent library! As a side now, I noticed, when I went to get some publishing information for when I post this to my blog, that many reviewers/parents complained about the use of gasoline and turpentine in a couple of the rhymes...if your kids would think it was ok to use those things for drinking or brushing their teeth, you haven't done your job as a parent. As for the calls that this would frighten kids...well, that's rather the point...but really, this is more campy creepy that genuinely scary, again it's a matter of not just how children perceive it...it's how YOU treat it as well. These are silly rhymes that take a monsterific twist on the classic Mother Goose nursery rhymes.

There are certain things in this world on which we can all rely. Blue skies. Dark nights. Wet water. And certain kinds of parents flipping out when they run across children's books that do anything even slightly risqué or off-the-wall. It is a constant. It happens every single day. Shel Silverstein and Maurice Sendak have all taken lobbed insults by overprotective parents. With this book Judy Sierra tries her hand at joining their ranks Since the publication of "Monster Goose" Ms. Sierra has churned out a mix of tame tales like "Wild About Books" alongside even more bone gnashers like, "Gruesome Guide To World Monsters". You gotta hand it to her. She's got range. In this particular case Sierra went the ways of such greats as the aforementioned Mr. Silverstein to bring the world a delightfully twisted take on old nursery rhyme favorites. No sane parent is going to hand this book to a child that isn't already familiar with the originals. Duh. But if you've a kid with a bit of savvy to them who enjoys faintly freakish fancies, this pairing of Sierra and Davis is a wonderfully dark little turn. Pity about the cannibal.

Like a nursery rhyme? All your favorites are here! A fan of "There was an old lady who lived in a shoe"? Try on "There was an old zombie who lived in a shoe" for size. What's your favorite monster? King Kong? He makes an appearance. How about boggarts? Check. We've got the Loch Ness Monster, pirates, Humpty-Dumpty (hey, I always found him creepy), ghosts, ghouls, mummies and more. And yes, there's cigar chomping and gasoline swilling. But if you've a kid who takes one look at a fellow who is now a virtual skeleton and thinks that taking a swig of petrol and a puff on the old pipe sounds like a good idea, you need to find yourself a new kid.

The illustrations are really where it's at here. When I see a Jack E. Davis image, my first thought is of his remarkably popular illustrations in the, "Zack Files" series. Davis has made a career out of the surreal and twisted. I think this must have some connection to the fact that the kids in his books always look on the verge of tears or terror. They're good round-cheeked children, but there's either something deeply disturbing that is either about to happen to them or happen because of them. "Monster Goose" just takes delicious advantage of this fact.

I often lament how every good twisted tale (like Carolyn Crimi's, "Boris and Bella", Tony DiTerlizzi's, "The Spider and the Fly" or Robert San Souci's, "Cinderella Skeleton") is co-opted by Halloween merely because it's a little dark. In this case, however, I understand the instinct. You've got everything in this mix. Ghouls. Skeletons. Vampire bats, vampire sheep, and werewolf shepherds. There is, admittedly, one character in this book that made me scratch my head for a moment and go, "huh?". It has to do with the cannibal. As a children's librarian part of my job is based on cannibals. "Doggone children's book cannibals!", I am often heard to rail. I can't tell you how many times I've picked up one of my favorite books from my youth (be it "Magic By the Lake" by Edward Eager or "The Phoenix and the Carpet" by E. Nesbit) only to find horrible racist caricatures of cannibals staring me in the face. I thought we were all past that, but apparently not. Jack E. Davis has decided to present the same bone-in-the-nose, hooped earring wearing, short-skirted cannibal we all remember from racist images from the past. Oh, but it's not racist. Why? Because he's green. And apparently that's supposed to make it all better. Pity Jack E. Davis, though. I mean, he did have to illustrate Ms. Sierra's poem about Cannibal Horner. Then again, what's wrong with just making a run-of-the-mill everyday American cannibal? Why dredge up all sorts of unpleasant references and thoughts with a horribly stereotypical image? Green doesn't make it better, people.

So there's something in this book that offended even me. And not in a good way either. It's funny that I should rail against people who dislike the book because it's disgusting and then object to something that I myself find subpar. That's the way it goes, I guess. In any case, if green cannibals don't raise your blood pressure any, I'm sure you'll find, "Monster Goose" a delightful read. I greatly enjoyed it myself. Just wish that a single poem could have been excluded from the end result.

I an neither a parent nor a child. I purchased this book for myself looking for fun and because I'm always looking for good illustrations. I admit the latter were not my cup-of-tea, but I can see where kids might like them. My concern came with one rhyme and its accompanying illustration. It went like this: "Jack Sprat/Ate some fat/AND DRANK SOME GASOLINE./He lit his pipe/And in one swipe/Invented Lean Cuisine." (emphasis mine). The illustration has 2 children sitting at a table eating snacks. The seat between them at the table has a pipe smoking skeleton holding a glass and a can of gasoline with some of its contents spilled on the table. I'm not a scrooge, nor am I narrow minded. I am for reasonable responsibility and I don't think telling 5 year olds that Jack Sprat drank gasoline is a very good idea. Otherwise the book's okay. Just know that you better read it with your children.

There she is, Monster Goose, looking at first glance, quite benign. But take a closer look and she's got a rather evil glint in her eye, sitting with her laptop, tapping away and nursery rhymes, as we know them, will never be the same. She's filled her poems with monsters, zombies, rodents and ghouls, creepy crawlies, maggots, slime and other assorted disgusting creatures and goo. Mary no longer has a little lamb, but a vampire bat and the old lady in the shoe has turned into a zombie..."She had so many maggots, she didn't know what to do." Come meet Cannibal Horner, who bites off his own thumb, Weird Mother Hubbard and Werewolf Bo-Peep. And if you're looking for a lullaby, try Hush Little Monster, (don't you whine), Sing A Song of Sea Slime or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Slug..... Judi Sierra has give old Mother Goose a nice Halloween twist, with this marvelously clever, irreverent book of verse. Her entertaining and engaging rhymes are depicted in Jack Davis' bold, bright and expressive illustrations and his busy artwork and attention to detail will have both youngsters and adults giggling and laughing out loud. This is a unique and truly ingenious collection that can be shared and enjoyed by everyone in the family. So don't wait for Halloween, Monster Goose is a wonderful read any and every day of the year.

Monster Goose is really a delight. My older kids (like 7 and up) loved it, and we all enjoyed listening to the horrific rhymes...My ten year old boy memorized one for school and it was a big hit. I definitely recommend this.

It would take a child without a sense of humor not to like this book. We have read it with all of our grandchildren and with the children of friends, and it is always a big hit!

My 6 year old son and I love reading this book. We laugh and laugh every time we read it. I took it to his kindergarten class when it was my turn to read to the class and all 22 kids were equally amused.